Category Archives: Lifestyle

Home Help: a challenge and a joy

Posted on 30 April 2013 by sheg4184

As an Australian, the concept of household staff is a foreign one, and I constantly find myself bewildered by the presence in my life of a full-time driver and a part-time maid or ‘helper’ and all the unwritten rules and … Continue reading →

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Snow & Ice in Manila…

Posted on 1 April 2013 by sheg4184

The temperature is rising in Manila as summer looms, but in the newly renovated New World Hotel in Makati it was snowing in March! The annual Ball is ANZA’s largest event, and this year it had a new location. No … Continue reading →

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Where is home?

Posted on 28 March 2013 by sheg4184

Home is a place to live: a place of retreat, rest, comfort, refuge. It can be the house or the town or the country in which we grew up or feel we belong. Some cultures include nomadic people whose homes … Continue reading →

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Freedom

Posted on 20 March 2013 by sheg4184

As our teenage sons baulk at the various house rules we attempt to enforce, I grapple with the idea of them emerging into a world without parental control, and I often find myself contemplating the parenting of today compared with … Continue reading →

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Driving: More Fun in the Philippines!

Posted on 10 March 2013 by sheg4184

Recently we have started teaching our older son to drive. In Manila. I haven’t actively dissuaded him from learning to drive, but nor have I actively encouraged him. There are so few safe places to get him used to driving a … Continue reading →

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Departure Lounge

Posted on 2 February 2013 by sheg4184

“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion is starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see … Continue reading →

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Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Posted on 9 January 2013 by sheg4184

A deckchair on the lawn overlooking a calm, clear sea; a mug of tea squatting in the grass by my feet; a light breeze whisking through the palm trees; local kids playing among the fishing boats ; a couple of old men perched on an upturned boat, smoking, staring … Continue reading →

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Hibiscus and a Piece of Heaven…

Posted on 14 December 2012 by sheg4184

Have you ever had a massage on a raft, two hundred metres off shore, while gentle waves lapped and slapped against the bamboo and a light breeze skipped through the calico curtains, fluttering and flirting against your bare skin, while … Continue reading →

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War Games!

Posted on 11 December 2012 by sheg4184

Do you, like me, often find yourself wondering what to do with your teenagers over weekends and holidays? Are you forever trying to find a reason to drag them away from computers and X-Boxes? Here is one way to keep … Continue reading →

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Sunday Markets: a new religion

Posted on 18 November 2012 by sheg4184

Weekend markets have long been popular sources of quality produce and family entertainment. In South Australia, the Sunday Farmer’s Market has become an almost religious experience, as pilgrims flock to meet the farmers, orchardists, fishermen, cheese-makers, bakers, and cooks who … Continue reading →

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